It's worth reading Ron Chernow's biography of the Rockefellers. Rockefeller had a strong Christian Soldier belief system, in which he was righteous and most ot

It's worth reading Ron Chernow's biography of the Rockefellers. Rockefeller had a strong Christian Soldier belief system, in which he was righteous and most other oilmen were sinners. (The 19th century oil business attracted a lot of hard-drinking, gambling, womanizing types.) He did good works with his money, while many of his competitors would have spent it on vice. Therefore, he was furthering God's plan for the righteous to inherit the earth by beating them in business. It's a worldview difficult for moderns to relate to, but I think it was authentic for him.